Everything you need to know about how to set up Google Home, Mini, and Max Smart Speakers are contained right in this post. Thus read to the end.
Getting the Google Home smart speaker for yourself is just the choice, and right after comes the need to set up before you can enjoy all of its features and benefits such as access to the lifestyle enhancement capabilities from listening to music, communicating with friends, language translation, news/information, and the ability to control other devices in your home.
What You Need to Get Started
- iOS or Android Smartphone/Tablet
- Internet Service
- Internet Router with Wi-Fi capability
- A Google Account
- A Google Home smart speaker (includes Mini or Max)
How To Set Up Google Home – Initial Setup Steps
1. Plug in your Google Home smart speaker to power using the provided AC Adapter. It powers on automatically.
2. Download the Google Home app to your smartphone or tablet from the Google Play or iTunes App Store.
3. Open the Google Home app and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policies.
4. Next, go to Devices in the Google Home app and allow it to detect your Google Home device.
5. Once your device is detected, tap Continue on your smartphone screen and then tap set up for your Google Home device.
6. After the app successfully sets up the selected Google Home unit, it will play a test sound – if not, tap “play test sound” on the app screen. If you heard the sound, then tap “I heard the sound”.
7. Next, using the Google Home app prompts on your smartphone select your location (if you haven’t done so already), language, and Wi-Fi Network (be ready to enter your password).
8. In order to enable Google Assistant features on a Google Home device, the final thing you need to is to tap “Sign In” in the Google Home App and enter your Google Account Username and password.
Also Read – How Resolve Google Sign Up & Gmail Account Login Issues
Using Voice Recognition & Communication
To start using the Google Home, say “OK Google” or “Hey Google” and then say a command or ask a question. Once Google Assistant responds, you are ready to go. You will get a quite entertaining response that changes each time you say such phrase like “OK or Hey Google – What’s Up” – and that could be fun at same time.
Note: Each time you wish to ask a question, you must say “OK Google” or “Hey Google”, unless you activate the Continued Conversation feature. This allows you to interact with your Google Home in a more natural manner. The continued conversation means you can ask Google a series of questions without having to say “OK Google” before each question. However, if Google Home does not detect any questions after 8 seconds, you will have to say “OK Google” to get another conversation started.
To enable the Continued Conversation feature:
- Go to the Google Assistant or Google Home App on your smartphone.
- Go to Settings In the Google Assistant App or More Settings in the Google Home App
- Go to Preferences
- Tap Continued Conversation
NOTE: This feature is only available in the U.S.
Once the Google Assistant recognizes your voice, multi-colored indicator lights located on the top of the unit will start flashing. Once a question is answered or task is completed, you can say “OK or Hey Google – Stop”. However, the Google Home smart speaker does not turn off – it is always on unless you physically unplug it from power. However, if you wish to turn off the microphones for some reason, there is a microphone mute button.
Also Read – How to Reset Google Home – Google Home Reset
When communicating with a Google Home smart speaker, speak in natural tones, at a normal pace and volume level. Over time, Google Assistant will become familiar with your speech patterns.
The default voice response of the Google Assistant is female. However, you can change the voice to male via the following steps:
- Open the Google Home App on your smartphone.
- Tap the Menu icon on the top left side of your screen.
- Under Google Assistant select More Settings.
- Under Account, go to Preferences.
- Select Assistant Voice. Before you finalize your choice you can tap on the speaker icon what it will sound like.
Try Language Capabilities
Google Home smart speakers can be operated in several languages including English (US, UK, CAN, AU), French (FR, CAN), and German. However, in addition to operational languages, Google Home devices can also translate words and phrases into languages supported by Google Translate.
For example, you can say “OK, Google, say ‘good morning’ in Finnish”; “OK, Google say ‘thank you’ in German”; “Hey Google tell me how to say ‘where is the nearest school’ in Japanese”; “OK, Google can you tell how to say ‘here is my passport’ in Italian”.
You can also ask a Google Home smart speaker to spell just about every word, from “cat” to “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”. It can also spell many words in some foreign languages using English spelling conventions (does not include accents or other special characters).
Play Streaming Music – How To Set Up Google Home
If you subscribe to Google Play, you can start playing music right away with commands such as “OK Google – Play Music“. However, if you have accounts with other services, such as Pandora or Spotify, you can command Google Home to play music from those as well. For example, you can say “Hey Google, Play Tom Petty Music on Pandora”.
To listen to a radio station, just say OK Google, play (name of the radio station) and if it is on iHeart Radio, the Google Home smart speaker will play it.
You can also listen to music directly from most smartphones via Bluetooth streaming. Just follow the pairing instructions in the Google Home App on your smartphone or just say “OK Google, Bluetooth pairing”.
In addition, If you have a Google Home Max, you can physically connect an external audio source (such as a CD player) to it via an analog stereo cable. However, depending on the source, you may need to use an RCA-to-3.5mm adapter to complete the connection.
Also, while your Google Home is playing music, you can interrupt with a question about the musical artist or something else. After it answers, it will return you to the music automatically.
Google Home also supports multi-room audio. You can send audio to other Google Home smart speakers you might have around the house (including the Mini and Max), Chromecast for audio, and wireless powered speakers with Chromecast built-in. You can even place devices into groups. For example, you can have the devices in your living room and bedroom designated as one group and your bedroom devices in another group. However, Chromecast for video and TVs with Chromecast built-in do not support the Groups feature.
Once groups are established, you can not only send music to each group but you can change the volume each device or all the devices in the group together. Of course, you also have the option of controlling the volume of Google Home, Mini, Max, and chromecast-enabled speakers using the physical controls available on each unit.
Cook With Food Network Assistance
Don’t know what to cook tonight? Check out the Food Network Assistant. Just say “OK Google ask Food Network about Fried Chicken Recipes”. What happens next is that the Google Assistant will establish voice assistance between you and Food Network.
The Food Network voice assistant will acknowledge your request and confirm that it has found the requested recipes and can email them to you or ask if you would like to request more recipes. If you choose the email option, you will receive them almost instantaneously. Another option you have is that the Food Network Assistant can also read you the recipe, step-by-step.
Call For Uber Rides
You can use the Google Home to reserve a ride on Uber. First, you need to make sure you have downloaded and installed the Uber app (with a payment method) on your smartphone and link it to your Google Account. Once that is done you should just be to say “OK Google, get me an Uber”.
However, you will also have to make sure you have put in a pick-up destination in the Uber app. After that is taken care of, you can find out how far away your ride is so you can get ready to meet it, or find out it is running late.
